Saturn v Paulton A 10/03/12

After a defeat last week Paulton were determined to come back strong and show their true colours. With the sun overhead, Paulton started brightly by taking the first three goals of the match. Charlotte, Victoria, Laura and Deb stopped any momentum building for the Saturn attack by turning over all rebounds and effectively taking play up court, through Hayley, and into Jess and Cheryl who were sinking in the shots to establish a four goal lead, finishing the first quarter 13 – 9.

Quarter two saw Jess and Cheryl swap back to their more comfortable positions of GS and GA, respectively, but the tall Saturn defence used their height and range well making hard work for the players were able to intercept. Saturn used the turnovers to their advantage and managed to pull back the score 19 -17, leaving Paulton with just a two goal lead.

As usual, Paulton and their fighting spirit and determination hit the court for quarter three with Ness replacing Laura at WD. Paulton used their channels well and commendably fed the ball to both Cheryl and Jess who shot with flair and confidence to gain a ten goal lead, bringing the score to 33 -23.

A switch between Hayley and Deb enabled the leaders to sustain a steady game with Paulton’s fitness levels evident as a tired Saturn team maintained their harsh physicality to test Paulton’s strength. With Jess taking a tumble with 5 minutes to go, and spraining her ankle, Ness was on to put up the shots with Cheryl and hold the lead. After a great 60 minutes, Paulton did themselves proud by demonstrating calmness and control to take the match 43 -32 – a well-deserved win to keep them up in the middle of the table.